Questions remain about Bell’s new data mining plan

Bell Canada defended itself this week against accusations it was mining too greedily and too deep into customer information in order to show more targeted advertising — but aside from privacy concerns, it’s still not clear how the program will work.

The telecom’s new privacy policy, coming into effect Nov. 16, would let it track subscribers’ phone calls, location, web history, app downloads and even TV viewing habits, all in order to create detailed profiles for advertisers seeking specific demographics to pitch their products to.

The scheme has, understandably, alarmed privacy advocates.

Not only do Bell’s Internet, cable and wireless businesses give it a staggering amount of information on the tastes and habits of its customers, but the data could prove too enticing for authorities looking for dirt on Canadians.

“This is an open invitation for law enforcement to know that they’ve got one of the most detailed customer…